Where We Die of Laughter
by kikudog6
Summary: What if the clown in Cat Rain and fire was just a little craftier. And deadlier.
1. Clowning Around

Summary: What if the clown in Cat, Rain, and Fire was just a little craftier. And deadlier.

When We Die of Laughter

"Tori," Jade interrupts the Latina's rant, heart picking up as she spots a clown creeping towards the girls. "Tori." she repeats, this time more alert.

"What?" she sighs exasperatedly, though almost immediately foul hot breath grazes her skin. She turns around and steps back with a yelp, her body pressed against the car.

"Can I have a ride to your house?" The strangers voice comes in a gravelly and threatening tone, and his eyes bore unrelenting into hers.

She gulps, rallying every bit of courage she can muster, "Um, no- no we're driving our friend to San Diego." Tori gestures towards Cat and Jade, who are clinging to each other, warily surveying the man.

"When are you going to San Die-ego?" He steps closer, his breaths coming in ragged, noxious gales, smothering her in it's fumes.

"You know," she stalls, taking a quick glance at the car, before dashing for the door, screaming for the others to follow suit. Though as she yanks the door open, and lunges for the seat, bony fingers claw at her stomach, pulling her back.

She struggles in his grasp, but before she can fully free herself, he swiftly wraps his arm around her neck. Her screams diminish to strangled gasps, until finally silencing as her airway is completely blocked.

She claws at his arm, arms and legs flailing as he chuckles quietly, watching with daring eyes as Cat and Jade rush to the other side of the convertible.

"Tori!" Cat squeaks, hurries to her friend. However, before she can reach her, the stranger uses his other hand and reaches in his pockets, and then pulling out a jagged blade.

Both Cat and Jade freeze as he places the knife below Tori's chin, whose face went from a deep red to a violent purple in seconds.

"I'll let go, if you listen to me." He states with a mischievous leer.

They both nod frantically, and at last he drops Tori to the ground, who instinctively clutches her throat as coughs rack her body, tears coming in torrents.

"So, how 'bout we head over to San Die-ego." The clowns face contorts into a monstrous glee, his face paint smudged and stained giving him an eerily resemblance to the Joker.

Trying to swallow down her hacks, Tori stumbles to her feet, her chest heaving, though manages to clamber into the backseat. Cat soon follows, tears carving runts into her cheeks, as the clown takes his place in the passenger seat.

Still standing outside of the car, Jade contemplates on what she should do. She knows that complying with this mad man will get them killed. But then again, so might not obeying. However, she never was one to go down without a fight.

"Come one Girly, we've got places to go." The cloqn coos from his seat, peering back at the goth.

Quickly pulling herself together, Jade easily falls into acting mode, "Nah, I'm not really in the mood for rape." She says nonchalantly, still standing near a gas pump.

"Rape?" He questions innocently, "Ah no, there's no fun in that."

"Really?" She eyes him challengingly, "Well I think I'll pass, you can take those two though, but they can't really drive so..." She trails off.

The clown stays seated, his face unreadable, and for a second she afraid he'll just drive off with Tori and Cat. However, at last he gets up and walks in sweeping motions toward her, "Well alright, I guess I can give you another demo." His voice comes in a raspy whisper.

Without hesitation, Jade throws a savage right hook to his face. He stumbles back, cradling his cheek with his body trembling. At first Jade believes him to be quaking in pain, though instead she sees a smile spread heinously across his face. Exposing grimy yellow teeth as he shakes in laughter.

Jade rushes to the car, and hops in the front seat, fiddling with the keys. Before she can put the junkyard car into drive, a screech erupts form behind her. She snaps her head back, seeing the clown jump into the roof-less convertible.

Tori and Cat scream in fear, trying in vain to remove him from the car, but he simply sits up at the end of the car, as Cat presses herself against Tori on the other end.

The clown wrenches Cat from Tori's side, and puts a knife to her neck.

The car remains eerily silent, as blood beads under the blade, although soon his steely voice slices through the air, "So how about we go to San Diego."

**Wow, this was pretty creepy to write O.o Do you guys think I should continue?**


	2. The Games Begin

Jade's bone white hands grip the steering wheel mercilessly. A brew of rage and terror seethe dangerously within her, though she withholds any impulsive actions that might get all three killed.

Cat's whimpers ring in the back of the car, and she tries not to scream out in fear as the clown hums 'Ring Around the Roses.' The tune is slow and haunting, carrying through the wind as if a tortured soul had sang it.

A relaxed smile is slathered across his face, as he lazily presses the knife to Cat's neck, but not enough to draw blood this time. His eyes are crinkled into slits and he stares indolently at the blur of buildings, multicolored coils of hair bouncing in a chaotic dance as wind whips through the car.

"W-Where do you want to go anyways?" Tori speaks up, her eyes never leaving the stranger.

"Oh I'll tell you when to stop." He gives a side glance towards her. "Would you nice girls happen to have cell phones?"

The car falls into silence, and the clown takes it as a cue to continue, "Alright then, may I please have them."

All three girls remain motionless, until Cat screeches in pain as the blade digs into her neck. Jade cringes at her friend's torment, and reluctantly tosses the phone in the back seat, keeping her eyes on the road. Tori frantically reaches into her pockets and hands her phone to the clown, also searching a bright pink bag for Cat's phone, before also giving it to him.

"See, following directions isn't that hard." He smiles, carelessly lobbing the cells out the car.

Again tears pool at Cat's eyes, before cascading in salty rivulets. They mix with the still falling rain, blending Mother Nature, and man-made terror.

"Don't cry little one." He murmurs, his breath billowing in toxic bursts, "You should save them for later."

She chokes on a sob at his words, tears only coming more freely. Tori bites her lip, snapping her head to look outside the car, and hopefully forget about their misery.

Another two hours pass, and finally the clown ushers for them to make a random set of turns, until they reach their destination.

What seems to be an old abandoned ranch house sits at the corner of a street of run-down buildings. Ivy strangles the house in olive tendrils, complimented by the jungle of weeds, and a single warped tree clawing at the night's shadows.

"So," the clown inquires, looking out of the car and finally releasing Cat "What do you think?"

The girls gaze at the house, eyes pools of terror. All three still into silence, their heartbeats being the only sound that remind them of reality.

"Ah I see, you're speechless." He chuckles and gets out of the car, casually making his way to the door. However halfway through the maze of shrubs he looks back, "Well come on, let's start the games." His face morphs into a terrible smirk.

Jade squeezes her eyes shut, giving her mind one last time to reveal that all of this was nothing more than a twisted nightmare. As expected, she's still trapped in reality, and heaves a shuttering sigh before warily exiting the convertible. The others slowly follow her lead, knowing escape may lead in death.

A devilish grin slinks on the clown's face as the girl's approach, and he swoops his arm to escort them inside. The floors creaks at their presence, as though the house itself is laughing in ridicule at their misfortune.

At the flick of his finger the lights quiver into a dim glare, hardly illuminating anything in a 10 foot radius. "Nothing like home sweet home, huh girls?" He smiles, inhaling the house's musty odor.

"Now what do you want?" Jade disregards his small talk.

"Why I'm glad you asked." He rasps, "Well I was thinking a game of Simon Says, is that alright with you?" Silence responds, and he takes it as an affirmative.

He leads them upstairs, humming a nameless song. "So first off, I suppose you should learn my name. Well they call me Chase. See not that scary of name, so stop trembling will ya?" He beams, "Now it's you turn."

"Jade, my names Jade, and that's-"

"Woah slow your roll _Jade,_" he chides, "I'm positive they can speak for themselves, no?"

Jade scowls, but remains quiet, "Um, my name's Tori." She whispers.

"And I'm Cat." comes the smallest's squeak.

"Ah what lovely names, now here are the rules to the game; first and foremost listen to me, got it." The usual grin slides off his face, replaced with a stony glare.

"Okay, let's start. Simon says for you," He points a gloved finger at Jade, "to come over to me." In turn she galres callously at Chase, but nonetheless obeys.

"Now, Simon says to stay silent." With that he digs in his pocket, and uncovers his used blade. Cat squeaks from behind though he takes no mind, and merely stares challengingly at Jade, marveling at how she easily conceals her fear. But then again she still is human, and even that little glint of terror pushes him to go on.

As if working on a masterpiece, he gently clasps her arm in his hand and pushes down her sleeve so that her forearm is exposed. Without looking up he murmurs, "Do you know what my favorite colors are?"

She doesn't respond, not knowing if it's a trick question as he had ordered her to be silent. He doesn't seem to mind and continues, "Black," his fingers brush against her sleeve, "white," he softly presses a faint vein in her arm, "and red." With that, the blade carves scarlet trails in a snowy plain, effortlessly splitting her skin into bloody valleys.

She bites the inside of her cheek, and tries to steady her strained breathing as pain flares below the crook of her elbow. Though her efforts to conceal her pain fail as he ends halfway on her forearm, and digs the knife a little deeper into her skin. Her breath hitches and she gasps in pain, hunching down slightly.

At last he stops, and pulls his eyes from her gash to her eyes. His face holds an inhumane glee, and a terrible smile tugs on his lips "Uh oh, Simon said to be silent, that means you lose."

**Thanks so much for the reviews guys! They seriously mean a lot :D I hope you guys weren't disappointed by this chapter after the wait!  
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	3. Just Listen

"Uh oh, Simon said to be silent, that means you lose." Chase's voice slices through the room in a gritty whisper.

Silence echoes in the room at his words, and as if a pattern he's the one to interrupt it, "Well, it's only fair that you get punished." He sighs, and turns to the corner room where a wooden dresser sits, it's grey paint laying in a flaking heap at the foot of it.

Kneeling in front of it, Chase obscures the girls vision from whatever hides within the drawer. Jade keeps a heedful eye, while clutching her injured arm doing her best to ease the bleeding. Nevertheless rivers of scarlet seep through her dam of fingers.

Eventually Chase moves away from the drawers, carefully holding a spoon filled with white powder.

"What the hell is that?" Jade blurts, involuntarily taking a step back, and she cringes at the sign of weakness.

"Tsk tsk, you just don't listen do you?" He shakes his head and approaches her, "Ah well, this will surely fix that problem, just think of it as when your mom used to rinse your mouth with soap." He smirks, his eyes gleaming with malice.

"Here, you're a big girl, hold it by yourself, and don't drop it." He warns, and forces her to clasp the spoon with her uninjured hand. The air bites at her wound, but she does her best to ignore it and stares at the mysterious powder fearfully.

At last she brings it to her mouth, and cringes at the taste. Though in seconds her throat seizes. The spoon falls to the ground followed by a clang, and her hand flies to her neck with a strangled gasp for air. Her eyes widen in panic as the particles solidify in her windpipe, and she reaches blindly behind her for something to grab.

"What are you doing?" Cat squeals, running towards Jade with Tori already ahead.

"Unless you want her dead, I suggest you two stay put." He orders, which causes them to pause for a moment, before stopping in defeat.

"Jade-" Tori whispers weakly as her friend staggers towards a nearby end table, her mouth gaping helplessly for air and unheeded tears trickling down her cheeks. She leans heavily on the small table, and her arm aches at the pressure but she manages to keep herself up for just a few more seconds.

Blood rushes in Jade's ears, thundering in sheets of pain as her throat burns with the powder. With wide eyes, she stares blindly while her lungs heave frantically, fighting for each gulp of air though met with absolutely none.

As her injured arm grips the end table, a harrowing silence begins to overcome her. It slowly creeps in, at first smothering distant nosies, such as Cat's stifled sobs and the rain pelting the roof. Though soon she plummets into an absolute silence, trapped in the scope between life and death .

Spots pepper her vision, blending with the terrified haze that had already blanketed it. She collapses to her knees, hunching over while still grasping her neck in a futile attempt to dislodge the clump of chemicals in her throat.

Cat and Tori's screams go unheard until Chase finally moves from his spot near the drawers where he was simply beaming at the terror. Slowly but surely he walks to the nearly unconscious teen, and grabs her by her injured arm, "Oh stop with the dramatics," he teases, pulling her to her feet. He pounds mercilessly at her back, muttering for her to 'spit the damn thing out'.

At last she's able to cough up the wad, again dropping to her knees. Air surges painfully into her lungs and she falls into a violent coughing fit at Chase's feet, each hack expelling the contents but nonetheless burning her throat as it eats at her flesh, leaving it raw and scorching.

As the fit dies down into small chugs of air, her body trembles slightly at the trauma, but it starts to sink that she's truly alive. Though after a taste of his wrath, she wonders if death would have been the merciful way out.

"Pretty cool what ammonia can do huh?" He smiles up at Tori and Cat, who are still frozen in shock, "I bet you know why your mommy always said not to eat the detergent now." He laughs, patting Jade one more time on the back.

"Now," he starts, "who wants to be next?"

**I really appreciate all the reviews guys! They seriously mean a lot, so keep them coming haha! Anyways, not sure if anyone recognized it, but the ammonia thing was from 'A Child Called It' by Dave Pelzer. It's about one of the worst child abuse cases in California, and is told in Dave's (the kid) point of view. It had me in tears at some parts, and isn't really a book you can ever forget. So it's definitely one of my favorite stories so check it out! **


	4. Trust No One

Now, who wants to be next?" Chase asks casually, clapping his hands together.

Jade's ragged pants are the only sound in the room. Truly depicting the suffocating terror that veils the trio.

He gazes at the terrified girls, "How about you, I let you off easy in the car anyways." He looks at Cat. Tori automatically clutches the girl's hand protectively.

"Would you like to join her?" He questions the Latina, with a smile. "Very well then, both of you, Simon says come here."

The girls remain unmoving, gazing between Jade and Chase with petrified eyes. "Do you guys need another demonstration of what happens when you don't listen to Simon." He eyes them.

Slightly hesitating, they both shuffle over towards the demonic clown, "Good, now you're in the way, Simon says to move over there." He looks down at Jade, whose still slumped on her knees. With a shuddering breath, she shakily gets to her feet, wavering slightly as her vision spins. "Come on we don't have all day." He gives her a slight push, and she finds herself on the ground yet agin. Glaring callously at him, she stands up and stumbles a good fifteen feet away.

"Alright, now Cat," he addresses, "I want you to let go of Tori." Her nails dig into Tori's hand, before she ultimately releases their grip. In seconds the ring of a slap sounds in the room.

Cat clutches her reddening cheek, cool tears contrasting with her burning flesh. She whimpers both from pain and confusion, not sure of what she did wrong.

"Simon didn't say to let go." He taunts, with a smile plastered on his face, "But since you're so darn cute, I'll let you go this time. Now Simon says for you to follow me," He gestures towards Tori, "and you guys stay put. Or else." He smirks.

Tori's blood runs cold, and she stands frozen for a few seconds, before registering his command. Her legs move woodenly toward him, terrible scenarios of torture flickering through her mind. Chase motions for her to follow, and leads her through a passage into another room.

Cat eyes stay trained on where Chase and Tori just disappeared from, her heart hammering in terrified crashes against her chest. Her mind seizes in a wave panic, thoughts racing in a jumble of confusion and horror.

Minutes drag on and neither Jade nor Cat dare utter a single word, for fear of punishment, even though their captor was nowhere in sight.

Jade uses the time to at last take in their surroundings. It seems they were lead into what used to be a bedroom. Though in place where a bed should be sat a moth-eaten couch, blanketed in a thick film of dust. The grimy windows that filter little moonlight into the room are barricaded with rusty bars, chunks of the metal missing from the beams. With a stab of terror, Jade wonders if they were the clown's first victims.

Almost half an hour later Tori and Chase finally re-enter the room. The Latina walks unsteadily into the room, nearly tripping over her feet and she clutches an empty beer bottle in her left hand so tightly her knuckles blanch to a ghostly white.

Jade opens her mouth to question why Tori's evidently drunk, but her throat protests as a hellish burning scorches her throat.

An innocent grin shines on Chase's face, and he looks over at Tori and Cat, "Simon says for Tori to stand in front of Cat." He orders as if he never left.

Tori stumbles toward the red head, booze wafting around her like a shadow. She stares at Cat with clouded eyes, though a vicious smile spreads across her face, that makes the hairs on Cat's neck prickle.

"Okay Tori, now Simon says to hit Cat."

Before Cat can process his order, an ear-splitting scream escapes her lips as an excruciating pain erupts from her hip. She falls to the ground at the force, clutching her throbbing side as the pain flares throughout her body.

Tori stands above her, shaking slightly and raising her arm for another blow, "Hey! Simon says stop!" Chase demands, but Tori simply pauses, before bringing the glass bottle down with a feral animosity that even shocks her.

Cat briefly looks up, with tears cascading in waterfalls down her cheeks and sees the bottle coming down towards her head. Instinctively she squeezes her eyes shut, and before the pain hits her, the shattering of glass resound in her ears.

An intense stabbing pain surges through her shoulder, and the pain deafens her to the screech that arises. Shards of glass bore through her skin, causing a swell of blood to storm down her shirt.

The other three occupants stand in a mixture of shock and horror, before Chase rushes towards Cat, muttering a string of curses as he awkwardly picked her up from the ground, her screeches resounding directly in his ear. "Calm down, I can't have you die _just yet, _you'll be fine." He says, though he knows she can't hear.

Cat's screams echo throughout the house, as Chase lugs her into an unknown room. After a few minutes, just as sudden as the shrieks had started, they immediately die out, leaving the two other girls in a haunting silence.

Jade stares unmoving at the puddle of blood that seeps in the cracks of the wooden floorboard, and sprawls across the ground in ruby rivulets.

Abruptly she looks up at Tori, a blazing inferno roaring behind her eyes. "What the fuck?" she spits out, though it comes out in a garbled growl as an unimaginable pain flares in her throat.

Seemingly unaware of the goth's animosity, Tori looks at the remains of the bottle, her face clearly confused as though clueless to what she did.

"Tori." Jade hisses, swallowing down another wave of pain.

The Latina's head jerks up at the sound of Jade's voice, and she takes a step back spewing a series of incoherent words, and dropping the bottle. Her breaths come out raggedly as she continues to back up until she runs into the wall.

Jade's eyes swim with anger and confusion as she watches Tori's eyes dart frantically from side to side. Violent tremors begin to rack her body, coming in seizure-like quakes so intense Jade can hear her teeth chattering. Her legs give out and she falls to the ground with a clamor, her entire body trembling. Without hesitation Jade hurries to her trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

As she approaches, she sees Tori's eyes are rolled into the back of her head, and can hear her whimpering softly.

Completely at a lost, Jade's merely kneels down, and helplessly tries to get Tori to wake up. At last the tremors lessen, until she finally stills completely. Jade's heart races as Tori doesn't regain consciousness. With trembling hands, she places two fingers on the Latina's neck, and let's out a received sigh as a pulse throbs beneath her hand.

Jade looks around the room, for anything that might help, but the random arrangement of furnitures proves useless. So with a heavy sigh, she grudgingly picks up the other girl, and carries her to the couch, a cloud of dust billowing as she lands on the decrepit sofa.

Glancing at the door, Jade contemplates whether she should look for Cat and Chase. Though as she thinks back on his 'punishments' she decides against it, fearing he might hurt Cat even more.

So instead she sits on the end of the sofa where Tori's feet don't reach, and props her arm on the arm of the couch in a vain attempt to fall asleep. Though she simply ends up readjusting herself every five minutes, each second having her fear for Cat's life even more.

The night creeps on, and still neither Cat nor Chase reappear. Ultimately exhaustion overcomes her and she falls into a restless sleep, blood and screams outlining her dreams.

**Phew, that took a while to write, but I finally finished! Reviews are much appreciated, as they seriously make my day! **


	5. Surprises

A nameless tune whispers throughout the house. Slow and harrowing, the melody rings in a faint echo willing Jade awake. Jerkily moving her hand from under her head, she straightens up but flinches at the sharp pain in her neck from the odd position.

Her body aches with a general pain, worsening as she flexes her arm experimentally. Her pale skin is caked in a rusty layer of dried blood. The gash growing a little more gruesome over the night.

As for her throat, the unbearable burn had lessened slightly to the point she could swallow without a wave of torment every time.

She searches the room for the ongoing tune, though it seems to be emitting from the lower level. Looking at Tori, Jade finds her still unconscious next to her on the couch.

"Tori." Her voice comes out gravelly as she shakes her lightly.

The latina's eyes scrunch in her sleep and a tiny groan slips through her lips.

"Come on wake up." Jade urges her, shaking her a little harder.

At last Tori wakes up with a jolt but cringes in pain at the movement. Gingerly pulling herself into a sitting position, she scans the room with puzzled eyes, though suddenly she stiffens. Breaths coming in panicked bursts.

"No." she whispers, shutting her eyes tightly as if trapped in a nightmare. A splitting headache rages through her head, nearly deafening her as Jade speaks up.

"Tori, what the fuck happened last night?"

Her head snaps to meet piercing blue eyes, and she simply stares fro a few minutes before finally replying. "W-we were kidnapped," she stutters, almost hoping Jade would correct her and reassure it was just a cruel joke, "And you- he almost killed you, I thought-" Tears roll down her cheeks in salty trickles.

"Do you remember anything else?" Jade hastily cuts her off, not particularly interested in reliving that moment.

However as she's answered with a perplexed gaze she continues, "Vega, Chase took you somewhere and when you guys came back, I don't know, but he told you to attack Cat and-"

"Where is she?" Tori suddenly looks around, fear ripping through her body.

Her throat begins to burn worse than before, but Jade closes her eyes before briskly cutting her off. "You beat the shit out of her with an empty beer bottle, what the hell were you thinking?"

Tori freezes, her mind desperately to recover this unimaginable claim. "I-I- what are you talking about." she sputters quietly.

"You seriously don't remember?" Jade looks at her suspiciously, determining if she's lying or not.

"No, I wouldn't do that to her, to anyone." she shakes her head frantically, making her head throb even more and she finally asks softly, "Where is she?"

Jade's silent for a moment before answering harshly, "Dead for all we know."

A sob catches in Tori's throat and she struggle's to push it down, refusing to believe her. "Please, Jade." her voice is soft, trembling slightly.

"I don't know Tori okay?" she snaps, "I don't fucking know. That damn clown just took her away after and hasn't come back since. Maybe he just killed her since that's been his plan since the beginning."

The latina's fear grows as tears slide down Jade's face, knowing that Cat might actually be dead. Though before either of them can say anything else, the staircase squeaks noisily as someone makes their way up.

An eerie groan of the house alerts them to a pair of feet creeping in the hallway. Chase appears in the doorway, his usual smile plastered across his face. His clown costume stays intact, the make up smudged, and wig matted into a rainbow of curls and grime.

"Good morning girls, I trust you had a good night's rest." A sickly sweetness drips from his words as he gazes at the two, "Well come on now, there's no point in staring, breakfast is ready." he gestures for them to follow him.

Both girls stay rooted on the spot, gazing at the demented clown with wide eyes until Jade breaks the silence "Where's Cat?"

The roguish grin remains in place at her words and he furtively responds, "Oh don't worry about her, now come on the food's going to get cold. You don't anything worse to happen do you." Soul-less eyes rake their body, making both girls involuntarily cringe. Ultimately they shuffle towards him as he leads them down the stairs.

The previous tune that awakened Jade hisses throughout the house again, and her eyes snap towards Chase. Though she's surprised to see him with a placid smile slid on his face, seemingly unaware to the mysterious whistling.

However before she can ask what is, they arrive at the kitchen and the noise abruptly ends.

A stack of pancakes sit next to a serving of scrambled eggs, organized nicely on a large plate. Chase silently takes a seat at the pathetic table randomly placed in the run-down kitchen. A thick film of rust blankets the ancient stove, which stands next to a pale green fridge. Both adding to the room's smell of a myriad of stale and/or rotting food.

"Don't be shy take a seat." he waves his hand to the three empty fold-in chairs. They wearily sit at the food spattered seats, unsure of what he's planning.

Taking a bite out of the fortress of pancakes, chase seems to forget about the presence of the two high school students.

Tori's stomach lurches hungrily at the food, but she keeps her mouth shut as he savagely tears into his meal.

An uncomfortable silence stretches in the room, only disrupted by the scrape of utensils and animal like chewing.

"Are you not going to give us anything? We're starving." Jade finally snaps, glaring viciously at their kidnapper.

Hastily swallowing, Chase says as if just remembering "Oh right, how rude of me." he heads for the refrigerator and searches through the shelves packed with little food. Soon he pulls out two glasses of juice and an apple.

However the juice looks like it was poured years ago, with a thick skin of mold at the bottom and the drink itself discolored to a foul blend of green and orange. The apple in no better shape. Now reduced to a fuzzy lump of grey and blue, Tori swallows down the vomit climbing up her throat at the sight.

"What the hell?" Jade's voice comes out soft in disgust.

"What?" Chase questions innocently, "You don't like it? Well it's either this or nothing." he shrugs, setting the 'meal' in front of them.

A quick crash sounds in the house. The glass of juice shatters to the ground, mold tinged shards sailing across the wood-paneled floor.

Chase continues with his breakfast, soon finishing as Jade seethes in her seat. Clapping his hands together, he pays no mind to the sudden outburst, and instead beams, "So how about we play another game?"

"What the fuck is your problem, why are you doing this to us?" Jade roars as she stands from her seat.

The clown glances at her, a sly smirk showing "Oh Jade don't worry. This will be the last game, I promise. All you have to do is survive."

Breathing raggedly she looks at him in astonishment, truly not knowing what to say.

"Oh what's the game you ask?" his insanity stretches yet again, "Well I was thinking a tournament of sorts. Let's see whose the strongest between you three." Both girl's eyes widen in a mixture of fear and shock. "What you didn't think Cat would get let off that easy because she had a little boo-boo did you? Just because Tori really fucked her up doesn't mean she get to miss out on the fun." He glimpses accusingly at the trembling girl.

"I didn't-" she stutters, but Chase doesn't let her finish.

"Ah don't bother with excuses, I told you to hurt her, I didn't know you actually wanted to kill her. But ah well, it made things a lot more interesting. Now I suppose she should be here to hear the rules of our next game huh?" he seems to be trembling with anticipation, "Follow me ladies." he leads them through a series of hallways, and they appear to be at the back of the house.

A rotting wooden door sits at the end of the hall and the air instantly thickens as Chase casually opens the door. Inside Cat lays on a moth eaten cot that takes up the majority of the room. The sleeping red-head is cocooned in bandages that blanket her shoulder and hip. Next to the bed, a heap of gauze drenched in blood almost makes Tori gag. Dark circles ring Cat's eyes, and Jade wonders how she is even alive.

"Wakey wakey!" Chase carelessly shakes Cat. Her eyes flutter open accompanied with a groan.

"Don't touch her." Jade quickly hisses.

"It's not me you need to tell, she's the one who made her like this." he eyes Tori.

"I didn't-" however once again she's interrupted. Cat cries out in pain, trying to adjust herself on the bed.

"I want to go home." she whimpers.

"In due time little one, but first you just have to play one more game."

Cat makes to speak again but her captor shushes her, "I don't want to hear any more complaining." he chastises her as if scolding a child. "Now that everyone's here I'll explain the rules. You see this last activity will be a tournament. You guys are all going to compete in different challenges based on a certain skill, and who ever wins- well they'll get a special little surprise." his lips curl into a malicious smirk.

Silence suffocates the three victims, feeling Death's grip tighten around their chests.

"So, let the games begin! First game, pain tolerance."

***runs away from angry mob of readers wielding laptops and computers* Don't hurt me! I know it took forever for me to update, but I've been seriously brain dead for how I should write this story. I'm pretty disappointed with this chapter actually since it's boring and poorly written, but hopefully I didn't let you guys down too much!**


	6. Turning Point

A vice gripped Cat's lungs as Stanley's words hissed through the torment that clouded her mind. Her shoulder spiked with pain any time she dared move it, and her hip wasn't fairing any better. She glanced at Tori fearfully, searching her for the crazed the glint her eyes that she had seen last night.

"Alright so how about we go upstairs." Chase claps his hands together, gazing at Cat intensely. "Come on kid, I know you can stand." With that his hands clamp around her wrists and he pulls her into a sitting position.

A screech crawls from her lips and tears quickly slide down her cheeks.

"Stop!" Tori screams, and places a hand on his shoulder as if to pull him away.

"What? I'm just trying to help her up." a deranged look glazes over his eyes, and his voice comes out in a horrifying hiss, "Oh, yeah and I don't like being touched." he release a hand from Cat's wrist and brutally elbows Tori in the ribs.

She stumbles to the ground with a distinct crack and a yelp. She wraps an arm around her abdomen while biting her lip to keep from crying.

"Now let's play." he turns toward the red head, oblivious to Tori's whimpers as she tries to stand up. "Alright, up and at 'em" he once again latches onto her wrist and yanks her up, though this time he has the 'consideration' to grab her uninjured arm.

A pained yelp sounds from her but goes ignored as he hastily pushes her through the door and past the other two girls. She stumbles into the hall, ramming into the grimy wall and nearly falls back to the ground.

Her breaths come out jagged and irregular, agony searing her body and spotting her vision. "I-I..I can't- do it." she chokes out, tears coursing down her cheeks. With trembling legs, she slides to the ground in a battered heap, now letting out desperate sobs that shook her frame.

Tori quickly pulls herself off the ground, wincing slightly before wrapping a hand gingerly to her side and hurrying towards her friend.

"I'm so sorry Cat, so so sorry." she cautiously wrapped an arm around the crying girl in a half-embrace. "I'm sorry."

Woodenly, Jade stares at the two, her heart aching. Without a second thought, she turns and brings a savage punch to Chase's face; and another and another.

Quickly, Cat's cries are eclipsed by the clown's outraged yet pained shouts. Possessed by a sudden and outright fury, Jade holds no mercy for the man as he attempts to jab a few punches for himself.

However within seconds, Jade snatches a nearby lamp and shatters it against the matted wig. A blood-curdling scream erupts from his lips, before Chase's body goes limp and he collapses to the ground in a bleeding mess.

Jade freezes for a second, heart pounding furiously, before snapping her head towards Cat and Tori "Run!" she orders, quickly helping Cat off the ground as the three navigate their way through the house.

At last they reach the front of the house and as quickly as they can with all three injured, they hobble out of the forsaken house.

Although as they're halfway across the yard, Jade freezes. The haunting tune that she had earlier drifted lazily through the air, this time the song more frantic. Jade snaps her head back toward the house, fearing clawing ruthlessly at her chest. Though all that stares back at her is the rotting old house.

"Hurry." she whispers, as if the house can hear her. The three pick up their limp/trot, though they don't get far. Because the torturous crack of a gun halts all efforts of escape.

**Okay I know you guys must hate me for not updating in a month, but truthfully I thought people were losing interest in the story because a got a little less reviews last chapter ._. But don't worry, for those who do like the story I'll continue with timely updates too! Double bonus!**

** Anyways VOTING TIME! okay should I end the story in a couple chapters, or continue it, seriously I really want to know what you guys would prefer. Kay sowwy again, but ****thanks for reading!**


	7. Repeat

Jade collapses to the ground as the bullet severs the air. Having been Cat's support, she too falls, in a mix of deadening green and deep scarlet. The weeds of the yard are drenched in blood that just doesn't seem to stop.

Tori lets out a shrill squeak, quickly kneeling down to the gasping Jade. "Oh my God, oh my God." she whispers, hastily wiping away the tears that spill, though the terror that grips her body is unshakable. "Jade, Jade can you hear me?" she questions frantically.

The wounded girl looks at Tori, her eyes tortured and defeated. "I-I'm..fine." she blatantly lies through ragged breaths, squeezing her eyes shut as the words pass her lips.

Tori bites her lip, her brows knitted together as she looks helplessly at her sobbing friend "Cat what do I do?" However it's clear that Cat doesn't hear Tori over her cries.

"Really...I'm fine." Jade sputters, trying to pull herself up at least up to her elbows so she isn't laying pathetically on the ground, though she fails miserably and collapses with a sharp intake of breath. Blood rolls off her back, oozing through the jagged hole of fabric that the bullet had pierced.

"Don't move!" Tori promptly orders, "Just-" though before she finishes, a man hurriedly makes his way across the lawn, gun in pocket and smile on face. Jade's body goes rigid as she hears footsteps, and even more so the chilling tune.

"Why hello girls." his voice is softer than expected, easily carried by the wind.

"Who-" Tori begins to ask desperately, but is swiftly interrupted.

"Try not to scream too much, alright?" the man practically materializes at Jade's side, and whispers into her ear. Without hesitation he grabs her bridal-style, agonized gasps and cries accompanied. "Alright, c'mon you two." he calls as he leads Jade towards the house.

Tori and Cat merely stare for a second, unbelieving that the nightmare had ben been put on repeat.

"You don't want her dead do you?" he glances back one more time before disappearing into the house.

Time seems to still as the two hobble into a trail of blood and leave behind a teary wake. Upon entering, the squeak of the floor boards announce their arrival.

"Close the door." the stranger orders.

With a watery sigh, Tori reluctantly shuts it with a soft click.

"We're upstairs." he says, though they can barely hear him as his hushed voice is nearly swallowed by the house's thundering silence.

The two stand at the foot of the stairs, the feat of climbing it heightened by their injuries.

"I don't think I can..." Cat whimpers softly, her body radiating in scorching sheets of pain. She leans heavily against the wall, tears coming down quicker and thicker now.

"Shouldn't you guys be getting you asses up here?" the man's voice is suddenly clear and vicious, as if whispered in their ear.

Shutting her eyes with a sigh, Tori gingerly swings Cat's arm around her shoulder. Both girls slowly make their way up the stairway, ribs cracking further and muscles tearing. Finally they make it up, gasping all the while, though they're able to shuffle down the little hallway towards the room that they were sentenced to yesterday.

At first sight, they see Jade laying unconscious on the decaying couch. Without looking up, the man busily wraps countless bandages around her torso, not even bothering to remove the shirt from the wound.

"Karma's a bitch huh?" A voice hisses from behind.

Snapping their head back, Tori and Cat's heart drop as they see Chase standing at the door. A bandage is wound around his head, and bruises mar his dirtied skin.

"What are y-"

"You didn't think she killed me did you?" he chuckles darkly, interrupting Tori "It was just a bump on the head."

A moment of silence passes in the room, before Chases words float through Tori mind and an unexpected rage seizes her "What did you mean karma's a bitch anyways?"

"She tried to kill me, now she's almost dead. She deserves it too." he states simply, glaring challengingly at the Latina.

"Deserves it?" Tori sputters incredulously, "You're saying she deserved a bullet in the back that could paralyze or even kill her for trying to escape some deranged freak?" she practically shrieks in hysterics.

"Yeah I am." Chase responds, now with a smirk.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she stares at him, genuinely disbelieving of his cruelty.

"Ah c'mon, you can't give all the blame to me. Cedric here is the one who shot her." he gestures towards the other man, who is still attending to Jade's injury.

"What did we even do?" Tori finally asks with a defeated sigh.

"Nothing, just luck I guess. Now I'm going to need you to shut the fuck up alright?" Chase's demeanor quickly shifts, the air a little more savage. "You done yet?" he calls to Cedric.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. For a couple more days at least."

"Alright, wake her up. I've got an announcement." he briskly orders, "And you, Cat was it? Sit down, I don't want you passing out yet."

Cat practically collapses to the ground with a groan, Tori cautiously following. Cedric roughly shakes Jade awake, a billow of dust rising from the couch along the way.

As her eyes flutter open with a drawn out moan, he demands "Hey, listen to me. Move your legs." Squinting her eyes in confusion, she weakly wiggles her feet. "Alright good, now listen, and don't pass out or nothing."

"Well ladies," Chase begins what he makes out to be a speech, "as you see Cedric here is apart of our little family. However in reality, he's always been here, hiding out around the house to make sure you guys weren't planning an escape or anything of that nature. Now regardless of our previous mishap" he pauses to glare callously at Jade, "we will continue with the tournament, though the first round will not be pain tolerance, since that's just boring now that I think about it. Instead it will be a surprise." A grimy smile spreads menacingly on his lips. "However due to the little stunt pulled today, it'll be a little more...morbid. Even for me."

With that Chase leaves a suffocating silence, only disrupted by his and Cedric's leaving.

…

_Hey do you know if the girls are back from their little 'road trip' yet? _Andre receives a text from Beck the day after they were supposed to come back.

_Uh, weren't they supposed to be back last nite? Why o.o _he quickly texts back, while getting ready for school.

A couple of minutes later his phone vibrates on his way out the door _Yeah they were supposed to, but I texted Jade last night but she never answered. Same with Cat too._

Scrunching his brows at the message, Andre sends a quick message about seeing if their at school before driving off.

As he arrives, students already buzz around the school with half eaten breakfasts and impromptu performances. Andre idly sits in the hallway, sending about a dozen messages to Tori about 'where the chiz she was.'

Sighing after a couple minutes with no response, he pulls his gaze from the screen and spots beck making his way down the hall.

"Hey, any news?" he gets up, his hands stuffed in his pocket and clutching his phone.

"Nope." Beck sighs, "You don't think anything happened to them do you?" his face remains calm, though his voice is waivers slightly.

"What? No, dude you need to chill, they' probably got caught in traffic or something and overslept or something." Andre reassures.

"Yeah, I guess." he runs a hand through his hair, doubts running circles in his mind.

"They'll probably be here by lunch."

Though as time proved, the morning classes passes with none of the girls in sight. Robbie and first are the first the table, soon followed by Andre and lastly Beck.

"Shit." he curses under his breath, after seeing none of the girls at the table.

"Hey Beck," Robbie greet obliviously, "have you seen Tori, because-"

"No, none of them have been here today, I was going to ask you actually but I guess..." he places the second coffee in an empty space around the table.

"Maybe Trina knows, have you guys seen her?" Andre offers.

"Nope."

"Me neither."

The air tenses, and again Andre breaks the silence "Maybe we should go to Tori's house after school. Since her dad is a cop and all."

"Well you don't think it's that bad do you?" Robbie questions nervously.

Another silence. This time no one breaks it though.

**Yay this was a pretty quick update! So QUESTION TIME; do you guys want me to write out about Beck, Andre and Robbie trying to find the girls? I mean obviously I'll periodically add something new here and there, but I know it's a little boring so tell me what you want. Thanks for reading! **


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